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| Scholarships and Financial Aid |
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Merit Scholarships:
With your admission to the UK College of Law, you will be considered automatically for merit scholarship funds. The Scholarship Committee starts meeting in January and will continue meeting through mid-April. Three-year merit scholarships are awarded for all or part of tuition, and are available for both residents and nonresidents. If you want to be considered for scholarships, you should apply to UK Law by February 1.
Whether or not you receive scholarship funds as an entering student, you may apply for second- and third-year student scholarships in the spring of each academic year. Upper-level student scholarship awards are based upon a variety of criteria, including academic performance in law school, service to the law school and community, and financial need.
Diversity Awards:
The College of Law participates in two scholarship programs designed to increase diversity in its student body. The Kentucky Legal Educational Opportunity, program, or KLEO, is designed to increase the number of minority, low income or educationally disadvantaged Kentuckians in Kentucky's state-supported law schools. KLEO recipients receive $5,000 fellowship grants for each of the three years of law school that they remain eligible to participate in the program. Five Kentucky residents from UK Law's fall entering class are selected for the KLEO program each year.
In addition to awarding five KLEO grants, the College of Law also awards some of its scholarship funds on the basis of low-income status, educational disadvantage, minority status or other contributions to diversity. These awards are avilable for Kentucky residents and nonresidents candidates. You will be considered automatically for both the UK Law diversity scholarships and the KLEO program.
However, you may add an addendum to supplement your file for diversity scholarship consideration. Your addendum should have your name and social security number at the top, and include a brief statement describing your eligibility for UK Law's diversity scholarships and/or KLEO.
UK Fellowships:
The University of Kentucky sponsors several fellowships for UK undergraduates who attend graduate or professional school at UK. The Fellowships are for $12,000 - $20,000 and are awarded on the basis of academic achievement and contributions to UK as an undergraduate. An application is required, which must be submitted by February 11, 2008. The application process is handled by UK's Graduate Fellowship office. If you are a UK undergraduate admitted to UK Law, you should apply for these fellowships. For more information, go to www.rgs.uky.edu/gs/fellowship/fellopps.html.
The Bert Combs Scholars:
The Bert Combs Scholarships were endowed in 1992 to memorialize the achievements of Kentucky's 50th governor, Bert Thomas Combs. The Bert Combs Scholars Program at UK Law rewards the brightest and best law school applicants, from among both Kentucky resident and nonresident candidates. Two Bert Combs Scholars are selected each year for the incoming class. Each Combs Scholar receives a three-year scholarship that includes tuition plus an annual living stipend, for a total award of not less than $30,000 over the three years of law school.
Ashland Inc. Legal Scholars:
The Ashland Inc. Legal Scholars program, initiated in 1995, was designed to attract the best law school applicants in Kentucky to the UK College of Law. The scholarship is endowed by gifts from UK Law alumni in partnership with matching funds from Ashland Inc., one of Kentucky's best corporate citizens. The scholarship is in the amount of $14,000 per year for all three years of law school. If you apply for the Ashland Scholars Program, you must demonstrate that you will need to borrow funds to attend law school. Only one Ashland Inc. Legal Scholar is selected each year from among Kentucky resident applicants to the entering class.
To be a strong candidate for the Bert Combs Scholars and the Ashland Inc. Legal Scholars, you must not only meet all criteria for admission to the College of Law, but also have demonstrated high academic achievement as an undergraduate and in your performance on the LSAT. The recommended academic credentials are: 1) An LSAT average of 163 or above and an undergraduate GPA of 3.7 or better 2) An LSAT average of 165 or above and an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or better or 3) An LSAT average of 167 or above and an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or better. The College of Law Scholarships Committee will invite a limited number of exceptional candidates to interview for these scholarships.
Financial Aid:
The University of Kentucky has a central office for federal need-based financial aid applications. In order to qualify for loan assistance, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). UK Law mails the FAFSA form to all admitted candidates, beginning in January. You must file the FAFSA by April 1 to be considered for all types of aid available.
In completing the FAFSA Form, be sure to list the University of Kentucky in Question #86. Our School Code is 001989.
Do NOT mail the completed FAFSA to UK, but instead send it to:
Federal Student Aid Programs
P.O. Box 4008
Mt. Vernon, IL 62864-8608
If you qualify for work-study funds, for which you MUST apply by April 1, you have the option of working for those funds or receiving them as a low-interest loan. The College of Law requires you to take those funds in the form of a loan for your first year. Working during the first year has proven to be highly detrimental to a student's law school performance. If awarded work-study funds, please respond to UK's financial aid office that you reject the award and wish to be considered for additional loan funds.
The maximum loan funds per year provided under the federal Direct loan program is the lesser of $20,500 or the amount that Student Financial Aid determines to be your need (if you disagree with the need assessment, you may appeal). Perkins Loans of varying amounts up to $4,000 also are available for qualifying students. If you require funds beyond the amount you are awarded under these federal loan programs, there are private and federal PLUS loans available. The three national lenders most commonly used by UK Law students are Key Bank, LawAccess and LawLoans. To receive their loan application materials, call Key Bank at 1-800-KEY-LEND (or apply on-line at www.Key.com/educate/grad) call LawAccess at 1-800-282-1550 (or apply on-line at www.accessgroup.org), or call LawLoans at 1-800-984-0190.
Federal PLUS Loans.Federal PLUS Loans are designed to help pay any cost of attendance in excess of your other federal loans. You can borrow up to an amount not to exceed you cost of attendance minus other financial aid. Applications for the Federal Direct Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan can be downloaded from www.uky.edu/FinancialAid. Go to the download page on the UK Financial Aid website and scroll down to the Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan Request Form. PLUS loans are a cheaper alternative than most private loans.
The cost of attendance at UK Law for the 2008-09 academic year is as follows:
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KY Residents |
Nonresidents |
| Tuition |
$14,392 |
$25,570 |
| Fees |
$866 |
$866 |
| Room & Board |
$10,900 |
$10,900 |
| Books |
$900 |
$900 |
| Travel |
$700 |
$700 |
| Personal |
$2,362 |
$2,384 |
| Loan Origination |
$80 |
$80 |
| TOTAL |
$30,200 |
$41,400 |
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